1. Field of the Invention
Conductive thin films can be selectively deposited by vapor deposition processes, such as by atomic layer deposition type processes. Such films find use, for example, in integrated circuits (IC) and magnetic recording media.
2. Description of the Related Art
Thin films of ruthenium and other noble metals can be used in a wide variety of applications including integrated circuits and magnetic recording media. For example, ruthenium may be used as an electrode material in transistors, particularly those where silicon oxide is replaced by high-k dielectrics. They can also be used as copper seed layers in metallization processes. Noble metals are advantageous because they tend not to oxidize or otherwise corrode.
Noble metal films can also be used for capacitor electrodes of dynamic random access memories (DRAMs). Noble metals are also a potential electrode material for nonvolatile ferroelectric memories.
In addition to electrode applications, thin noble metal films find potential use in magnetic recording technology. In anti-ferromagnetically coupled recording media, for example, a thin Ru film may be used for separating two ferromagnetic layers.